Stoker and fuel distributor therefor



. Sept. 3, 1940.

w. 1'. cAPPs STOKER AND FUEL DISTRIBUTOR THEREFOR 4 sheets-sheet 1Original Filed June 29. 1934 cflfgj.

I INVENToR Wsm'ngio TCE/Upa. I' Y ATTORNEYS.

Sept.,3, 1940. w T. CAPES STOKER AND FUEL DISTRIBUTOR THEREFOR 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 29, 19,54

Sept. 3. 1940 w. T. cAPPs STOKER AND FUEL DISTRIBUTOR THEREFOR OriginalFiled June 29, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 i INVENTOR. Washing/ton. 7. @af/0s.Y

`w. T; CAPPS 2,213,334

STOKERAND DISTRIBUTOR THEREFOB l OriginaLFiled June 2'9, 1934 4Sheets-Sheet 4 sept. 3, 1940.

INVENTOR. Was/magia T Cap/0.5. BY 4 J f A TTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STOKER AND FUELDISTRIBUTOR THEREFOR Washington T. Capps. Baltimore, Md., assignor toThe Standard Stoker Company, Incorporated, a corporation of Delaware 5Claims.

This invention relates to stokers and the fuel distributing apparatusused in their connection.

It is one object of this invention to provide an improved arrangementconsisting of a stoker conduit and a pressure fluid distributor head, inwhich arrangement the conduit is provided at each side thereof with abracket extending into the firing opening and upon each of whichbrackets a pressure fluid distributor head is seated and secured.

Another object of this invention contemplates a novel connecting meansbetween the pressure fluid distributor head and the, firing table, saidmeans consisting of a lug depending from the under side of thedistributor head, which lug is arranged to be engaged by a bifurcatedportion extending rearwardly from the under side of the firing table.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an expansible andcontractible discharge mouth for lthe stoker conduit, comprising a pairof exible fuel guiding vane's, one at each side of the conduit, whichvanes may be bent transversely of the conduit to form a discharge mouthof the desired shape in order that the delivery of fuel to thedistributing device may b'e controlled.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of thefeatures of construction,l combination and arrangement of parts,hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side view partly in section and partly in elevation of thestoker and the distributor thereof in the region of the firing opening;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the distributor;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Figure 2; l

Figure 4 is a plan view of the distributor head with portions brokenaway;

Figure l5 is a side elevation of the distributor head;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the distributor head taken on the line6-6 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a sectional view of the distributor head taken on the line1-1 of Figure 11;

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the distributor head taken on the line8-8 of Figure 4;

Figure 9 is a. sectional view of the distributor head taken on the line9-9 of Figure 11;

Figure 10 is a sectional view of the distributor head taken on the line|0--I0 of Figure 4;

Figure 11 is a sectional view of the distributor head taken on the linelI-II of Figure 8;

Figure l2 is a sectional view of the distributor head taken on the linel2-I2 of .Figure 8:

(Cl. 11o-105.5)

Figure 13 is a view in section of the distributor head taken on the lineIl-it of Figure 8;

Figure 14 is a top plan view of the firing table; and

Figure 15 is a fragmentary plan view of that portion of the stoker atthe firing opening. Darts being broken away and shown in section.

Referring now to the drawings, 3 designates a portion of the locomotivebackhead comprising an inner sheet |00 and an outer sheet IUI, 4 thefiring opening therein, while A designates the stoker as a whole whichcomprises an elevator or delivery unit A2. The elevator or delivery unitA2 comprises a conduit I0 having a screw Il therein. l

The body portion of the elevator conduit l0 extends upwardly andforwardly at a suitable angle of inclination and carries at its upperend or discharge end a distributor A" of the construction hereinafterdescribed, whereby the fuel delivered by the conveyor Il is dischargedthrough the firing opening into the iirebox of the locomotive. At itsupper end the conduit l0 is provided with a flanged head or enlargement2l which is attached to a anged bracket 22 fastened to the backhead 3.

The distributor A", of steam iet type, Fig. 1, is of novel constructionand designed to give great feeding efficiency. It comprises a cast metalbody or distributor head section 45 and a detachable iiring table 46.The distributor head is provided at each side with a laterallyprojecting attaching flange 41 whereby it is adapted to be rigidlysecured by bolts 46' to brackets 48 formed with the elevator conduit I0at the sides of and within the firing opening, so as to dispose the head45 wholly within the firing opening in receiving relationship withrespect to the delivery end of the elevator conveyor unit, with thetable 46 projecting forwardly a proper distance into the flrebox. Thebody of the distributor head is provided with a bottom wall 49, a frontwall 50 and a rear wall 5I, and these walls carry a sloping top wall 52forming an upwardly inclined feed plate or table having a rearsupporting portion 53 located below its plane and correspondinglyinclined to serve as an abutment to the forward end of the elevatorunit. 'Ihe forward end of the elevator conduit directly above thedistributor head also has two deilector wings 22a which guide the coallaterally and forwardly onto the distributor plate or table 46. Thisplate or table consists of a main body or plate portion extending thefull width of the firing opening and having a rearwardly extendingreduced projection 56 lying in the plane ofk its upper face and whichextends over and rests upon the ledge or shelf 54 of the distributorbody.

The table is also provided with a basal projection 51 which extendsoutwardly beneath the ledge or shelf 54 and beneath the rear Wall 5l ofthe distributor head 45 and terminates in a bifurcated, slotted orforked portion 58, adapted to receive and engage a lug or projection 59on the distributor head, the arms of said forked, portion 58 beingprovided with downturned lugs or hooks 58 lying on opposite sides of thelug 59. The table 46 and the ledge or shelf 54 of the distributor bodyare apertured, as at 46a and 51a respectively, for passage of afastening bolt 60, while the lug 59 is apertured for the passage of acotterpin or other suitable fastening 6 I. By this construction of thetable and its mode of attachment to the distributor body or head, thetable is detachably mounted in position so that it may be readilyapplied and removed for renewal or repairs without disturbing the heador detaching it from its position, and connections are provided whichare readily disconnectible at any time whenever it is found necessary todetach the table for renewal or repairs or to permit more convenientaccess to the distributor head for the same purpose. The table isprovided with a suitable number, form and arrangement of guide ribs 62for properly spreading and guiding the fuel in advance of the jetportion of the distributor head. y

The fuel feeding over the top of the distributor head drops down overand between a transverse series of vertically disposed projections 63extending forwardly from the front wall 50`at an elevation above thetable upon which the fuel falls. The projections 63 serve as combinedrifiles and jet nozzles overhanging the table and spaced relatively toeach other so that the larger particles of coal will be separated fromthe dust and ner particles, the larger particles being carried forwardlyonto the table, while the dust and smaller particles drop down throughthe spaces between Ythe projections. In order to facilitate theseparation of the finer particles and dust from the lumps and largerparticles, the surface 52 is provided with grooves or passages 64 ofspecial form, as hereinafter described. The projections are arranged inequal numbers on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the headand are arranged at such angles as to properly direct the steam blastsor jets forwardly and at divergent angles in a forward direction toeffect a spreading of the fuel uniformly over the surface of the tableand into the rebox.

The head is provided with hollow forward side walls 65 forming steamcompartments, and the forward walls of these compartments join the guidewalls 22a and extend at oblique angles to the body so as to faceforwardly and toward the opposite sides of the flrebox. These Wallsextend forwardly beyond the front wall or face 50 and are provided withjet apertures 66 arranged to deliver jets. of steam' to sweep the coalat the sides or corners of the table into the rebox. 'Ihe body is alsodivided by an inclined longitudinal partitionf'l into a bottom steamchamber 68 and a top steam chamber 69, which top steam chamber isfurther divided by an upright partition 'Ill into compartments locatedon opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the head. The guidewalls 22a are in the form of thin, flexible steel plates, which arefirmly secured at their rear endsV to the conduit l0. If it is desiredto change the direction of the fuel in its passage to the distributor.the flexible steel plates may be bent or sprung so as to form a variablyextensible and contractible discharge mouth for the elevator conduit.

It will be observed that the grooves 64 in the sloping surface 52 of thesteam jet head are of minimum depth at their lower ends and graduallyincrease in depth toward their upper ends where they intersect thespaces between the projections 63. The purpose of these grooves 64 is tocarry the dust and fine coal to the projections 63, between which theyfall downwardly to the distributing table 46 and between the ribs 62,where the ne dust or coal will be blown by the bottom jets from theplate between the ribs 62 at a light pressure evenly over the fire bed.The jets that blow between the ribs 62 have outlets 14 communicatingwith chamber 68 only, supplied with steam by a pipe 1| controlled by anindividual valve in the cab. The heavier or coarser coal, on thecontrary, is carried over the projection 63, where it falls downward onthe firing table 46, and a large portion of it rests on the ribs 62which guide the coal forward under pressure from the steam jets inchambers 69 and 69a, which chambers are divided by the wall 10, thepressure required from these jets being consid erably greater than thatfurnished by the other jets because of the coal being so much heavierand larger than the finer coal particles blown forward by the jetsissuing from' the bottom chamber 6l.

The chambers 69 and 69a are supplied with steam through pipes Ha securedin ports 1lb and Hc, which pipes are provided with controlling valves inthe cab whereby the supply of steam thereto may be controlled. Each ofthese pipes is furnished Withan individual valve so that the chambers 69and 69a can be operated at varying pressures independently of eachother. The steam in the chambers 65a and 66h supply the steam for thejets 66 which feed the coal forward at the corners of the distributor.These chambers are supplied with steam through the pipes Hd and 'Hehaving controlling valves in the cab so that the supply of steam theretomay be regulated and controlled.

By means of my improved construction of steam jet head and manner ofseparating the fine coal from the coarser coal it has been found thatconsiderable fuel economy is obtained, ln that the finer coal can bedistributed evenly over the fire bed and that it will be held down to aconsiderable extent by the higher jet pressures which feed the heaviercoal forward and which are normally operated at a pressure from'onethird to one-fourth greater than the pressures of the other jets. Thearrangement of the ribs 62 on the ring table 46 has also been found tobe highly advantageous, these ribs being curved toward each side of therebox and so located as to guide the coal so that it will reach allportions of the frebox simultaneously.

While the structure disclosed for purposes of exempliiication ispreferred, it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form,construction and arrangement of parts within the scope of the appendedclaims may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention,

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No.733,142, filed June 29, 1934, for improvements in Locomotive stakers.now Patent No. 2,074,301, granted March 16, 1937.

I claim:

1. In combination, a flrebox having a wall with a firing openingtherein, a stoker fuel distributor mounted in an operative position atsaid firing opening and comprising a pressure fluid distributor head anda firing table, said distributor head having a front wall provided withjet apertures directed toward said rebox, a ledge extending forwardlyfrom said front wall below the said apertures, and a lug depending fromthe under side of said distributor head rearward of said ledge, saidfiring table being seated upon said ledge and having an upper fuelsupporting surface disposed below said apertures, a basal projectionformed at the under side of said firing table and extending rearward ofthe fuel supporting surface thereof, said basal projection taperinglaterally and having a bifurcated portion at its reduced rearward endwhich straddles the lug of said distributor head, and securing meansextending through said lug for engaging the bifurcated portion of saidbasal projection.

2. In combination, a firebox having `a wall with a firing openingtherein, a stoker feed conduit having its discharge end communicatingwith said rebox through said opening, the discharge end of said conduithaving a bottom wall terminating withinthe ring opening, said conduithaving side walls which are spaced inwardly from the sides of saidfiring opening and extend thereinto to form with said bottom wall achannel through which fuel is urged toward said firebox, a bracketformed at each side of said bottom wall and being disposed in the spaceincluded between the sides of the firing opening and the side walls ofsaid conduit, and a pressure fluid distributor head in said ringopening, said distributor head being provided with a laterally extendingflange at each side thereofl adapted to seat upon a respective bracketof said conduit, said distributor head extending rearwardly anddownwardly between said brackets beneath the bottom wall of saidconduit, and securing means extending into the respective brackets andflanges for fastening said distributor head to said conduit,

plurality of pressure fluid chambers, a front wall y having jetapertures therein in communication with said pressurev fluid chambers, ahollowed wall at each lateral extremity of said front Wall and extendingforwardly therebeyond, one side of a hollowed wall together with therespective side of the other hollowed wall including therebetween thejet apertures of said front wall, the opposite side of each hollowedwall being provided with jet apertures directed obliquely away from saidfront wall, said distributor head being disposed in said firing openingwith its front wall between the planes of the inner and outer sheets ofsaid firebox upright wall and said hollowed walls extending forwardly toapproximately the plane' of the inner sheet of said rebox wall, the jetapertures in the front wall and hollowed walls of said distributor headbeing I directed across the upper surface of said firing table.

4. In combination, a rebox having a wall with a ring opening therein, afuel feed conduit having its discharge end communicating with said reboxthrough said opening, the discharge end of said conduit having a bottomwall sloping upwardly and forwardly and terminating within the firingopening, a ledge formed at each side of said bottom wall and slopingdownwardly and ,forwardly from the forward edge of said bottom wall, apressure fluid distributor head, in said firing opening, saiddistributor head having a laterally extending flange ateach side thereofseated upon a respective ledge, means extending into said led-ges andflanges for securing said-distributor head to said fuel feed conduit,said distributor head having a fuel supporting top wall sloping upwardlyand forwardly to forrn a continuation of the conduit bottom wall, aportion .of said distributorhead projecting rearwardly between saidledges', a ledge lower forward side of said distributor head, a firingtable seated on said last named ledge, a projection formed with saidfiring table and extending rearwardly beneath said last named ledge,means associated with the under side of said distributor head and therearwardly projecting portion of said ring table for securing said tableto said head, said distributor head having a front wall provided withjet apertures above the level of said firing table and directed there-85 across.

5. In combination, a iirebox having a wall with a rin-g opening therein,a fuel feed conduit having its discharge end communicating with saidfirebox through said opening, the discharge end of said conduit having abottom wall sloping upwardly and forwardly and terminating within thefiring opening, a ledge formed at lformed with and extending forwardlyfrom the each side of said bottom wall and sloping down- A. wardly andforwardly from the forward edge of said bottom wall, a pressure fluiddistributor head in said firing opening, said distributor head having alaterally extending flange at each side thereof seated upon a respectiveledge, means .passing through said ledges and flanges for securing saiddistributor head to said fuel feed conduit, said distributor head havinga fuel supporting top wall sloping upwardly and forwardly to form acontinuation of the conduit bottom wall, a portion of said distributorhead projecting rearwardly between said ledges, said rearwardlyprojecting portion having a depending' lug, a' ledge formedv with andextending forwardly from the lower forward side of said distributorhead, a firing table seated on said last named ledge, a basal projectionformed at the under side of said ring table and extending beneath andrearward of said last named ledge, said basal projection having abifurcated rearward portion receiving said depending lug, means'

